Akali delegation to discuss J&K Sikhs with Rajnath, Mehbooba

Chandigarh, March 8 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Thursday that a high-level delegation of the party will meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti soon to apprise them of the problems being faced by the Sikh community in J&amp;K.

In a statement here, Badal said the delegation will urge both the leaders to get these issues resolved soon.

Badal gave this assurance to a visiting delegation of Sikhs from the troubled state in New Delhi.

The delegation pointed out that the Jammu and Kashmir government was completely ignoring the Sikh community.

They said the Sikh youth from the state were excluded from the Prime Minister’s employment package for non-migrant Kashmiri Pandits, the Anand Marriage Act was not yet implemented there and the state did not have a Minorities’ Commission.

The delegation said the Sikh community was facing many serious problems, including non-recognition as a minority community in the state because of which they were not getting the facilities meant for the minorities neither were they getting any benefit in government recruitments.